By Gabrielle Gleeson-Solomon, CEO of Tota
Scientific Review by Dr Nick Parkinson, PhD
On understanding your microbiome report.
Most medical test results you might have read tend to be quite straightforward. They say whether something was found or not found, positive or negative. But a microbiome report is different.
Your vaginal and urinary microbiomes are made up of communities of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. So rather than looking for one specific organism, your Tota test gives you a much more detailed picture of what was found in your sample.
Which means there can be a lot to take in.
If your first thought is, “What do my microbiome test results mean?”, you’re definitely not alone.
Before you start Googling the longest scientific name on the page, or asking AI for a diagnosis, here’s how we recommend approaching your results.
1. Start with the big picture
Your Tota report contains a lot of information, including a detailed breakdown of the microorganisms found in your sample. But you don't need to start by working your way through every scientific name.
If you're wondering how to read your vaginal microbiome results or urinary microbiome results, start with Your Microbiome Status. This gives you the clearest overview of what your results are telling you, based on the overall composition of your microbiome and the findings we've identified.
If your status is Optimal, that's good news. It means your microbiome has the characteristics you'd expect to see in a well-balanced vaginal or urinary microbiome, with no significant concerns identified. If you've been wondering whether everything looks as it should, this can be genuinely reassuring.
If your status is Suboptimal, your report will explain what was found and why it has been highlighted. Your Microbiome Breakdown will then help you understand which parts of your microbiome are contributing to that status and what they could mean for you.
Think of your status as the headline, then use the rest of your report to understand the story behind it.
If you haven't taken a Tota test yet and want to know what all of this looks like, you can view a sample report here to see what you'll receive.
2. Don't worry about how many organisms you see
A Tota test looks for microbial DNA and compares what it finds against our database of more than 4,000 species. That includes bacteria, fungi and yeasts, so Your Microbiome Breakdown might contain more names than you're used to seeing on a medical test.
A typical microbiome might contain up to a couple of dozen organisms, while others may contain fewer than five. Neither a long nor a short list tells you whether your microbiome is healthy on its own.
For each organism, we'll show you both the percentage of your microbiome it makes up and the actual amount detected. They give you two different ways of understanding what's there: the percentage shows you how much of your overall microbiome an organism represents, while the actual amount tells you how many cells are present based on how much of that organism's DNA was found in your sample.
You don't need to work through every number yourself. They're there to give you the detail if you want it, while Your Microbiome Status and Microbiome Breakdown help you understand what the overall findings mean.
3. Context matters
Some microorganisms might be familiar. Others might have long scientific names you've never seen before. When you're looking through them, remember that the presence of an organism is only one part of the picture.
Some microorganisms are commonly found in healthy vaginal or urinary microbiomes. Others may be associated with particular symptoms or conditions, especially when they're found at higher levels or alongside other changes in the microbiome. That's why it matters not just what was found, but how much was found and what else was present alongside it.
Your Microbiome Breakdown helps make sense of that context by highlighting the organisms and patterns that are most relevant to your overall result.
That's why your report interprets your results as a whole, taking into account any symptoms you're experiencing, rather than labelling every microorganism as simply "good" or "bad".
4. Remember that your microbiome can change
Your microbiome isn't fixed and your results are a picture of what was happening in your body at the time you took your test.
Vaginal microbiomes can also be influenced by factors including antibiotics, stress, smoking and sexual activity. The urinary microbiome can change over time too, with factors such as age and hormonal changes associated with differences in its composition.
There are also things you can do that may help support your microbiome health. Lifestyle choices such as eating a healthy, varied diet, limiting alcohol and avoiding smoking can all play a role. Depending on your results, you might also choose to explore more targeted steps, such as taking specific probiotics where appropriate.
Your microbiome will naturally continue to change over time, so what it looks like today won't necessarily be exactly what it looks like in six months or several years. Your results are most useful when you consider them alongside what's happening in your body and your life at the time.
5. Think about your results alongside your symptoms
Your microbiome results are one piece of information about your health. How you actually feel is another very important one.
If you feel well and your results show an Optimal microbiome, they may provide useful reassurance and a baseline you can refer back to in future.
If you’ve been experiencing symptoms, your results may give you additional information to explore. You might find they highlight something that could explain what you’ve been feeling and that you want to raise with a healthcare professional.
And if you’re experiencing symptoms but your microbiome comes back as Optimal, that’s useful information too. Vaginal and urinary symptoms can have causes beyond the microbiome, so your results add another piece of the picture, which may help guide what avenues you explore next with a healthcare professional.
6. Resist the urge to investigate every organism individually
We understand the temptation. You spot a name you've never seen before, Google it or ask AI, find a research paper linking it to an infection and suddenly you're 14 tabs deep wondering if something is seriously wrong.
The problem is that microorganisms don't exist in isolation.
Searching for one organism strips away all the context your report gives you: how much was found, the rest of your microbial community and whether that particular finding is considered significant.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't use AI. In fact, it can be a really useful tool for helping you understand your results, as long as you give it the full picture.
Rather than asking about one organism, upload your full Tota report and share the symptoms you're experiencing, along with any relevant context such as how long you've had them, whether they come and go, and any recent treatment or medication. The more relevant context you provide, the better AI can help you make sense of the information in front of you.
Here are five prompts you can try:
-
Explain my microbiome results to me in plain English. Start with “Your Microbiome Status” and “Your Microbiome Breakdown”.
-
Which findings in my report are most significant, and what do they mean?
-
How might the findings in my report relate to the symptoms I've shared?
-
Is there anything in my results that would be useful to discuss with a healthcare professional?
AI can be great at helping you understand complicated information, but it can also make mistakes and doesn't know your full medical history. Use AI to help you make sense of your results and ask better questions, rather than as a replacement for medical advice.
7. Decide what your results mean for you
There isn't one "correct" thing you need to do after receiving your results.
You might read them, feel reassured and decide you don't need to do anything else.
You might want to follow some of the recommendations in your personalised action plan and see how things change over time through future tests.
Or your results might raise questions you'd like to discuss with a healthcare professional, particularly if you're experiencing ongoing, recurrent or unexplained symptoms.
The important thing is to give yourself time to read your report fully, understand the information and decide what you want to do with it.
8. Take your results to a healthcare professional
If you do want medical advice, your Tota report is designed to be shared.
You can download or print your results and take them to your GP, gynaecologist, urologist or another healthcare professional. This can be particularly helpful if you've been experiencing symptoms and previous tests haven't given you the answers you were looking for.
Your report gives them detailed information about what was found in your sample, which you can use as a starting point for a conversation about your symptoms and whether any further investigation or treatment is appropriate.
Not sure where to start? Read our guide to what to ask your healthcare professional about your microbiome results.
Is at-home microbiome testing accurate?
We know that when you're using your results to make decisions about your health, you need to be able to trust the information you're looking at.
Tota takes part in external quality assessment (EQA) schemes that independently check our lab processes. In the last two years, we’ve maintained a score of 100% in our assessments.
And if you still have questions, ask us
Microbiome science can get complicated. You aren't expected to become an expert just because you've taken a test.
If there's something in your Tota report you don't understand, or you're not sure what your results mean, email us and we'll help you make sense of them.
We give you this level of detail because we believe you deserve to understand what's happening in your body. Our job is to make that information useful, so it can help you get closer to the answers, support and care you need.
No question too small. No microorganism name too long. We’re here to help at hello@tota.bio
Some more answers can be found on our FAQ page.
Sources
- Nelson DE, Van Der Pol B, Dong Q, Revanna KV, Fan B, Easwaran S, Sodergren E, Weinstock GM, Diao L, Fortenberry JD. Characteristic male urine microbiomes associate with asymptomatic sexually transmitted infection. PLoS One. 2010;5(11):e14116. PubMed: 20534435
- Brubaker L, Wolfe AJ. The female urinary microbiota/microbiome: clinical and research implications. Rambam Maimonides Med J. 2017;8(2):e0015. PubMed: 28467757
- France M, Alizadeh M, Brown S, Ma B, Ravel J. Towards a deeper understanding of the vaginal microbiota. Nat Microbiol. 2022;7(3):367-378. PubMed: 35246662
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Vaginitis. FAQs. ACOG
This article is for general information and does not replace medical advice. If you're experiencing new, severe, persistent or worsening symptoms, please speak to a GP or another qualified healthcare professional.
0 comments